A community is composed of
A) potentially interacting populations of different kinds of organisms.
B) one species of organism living in a specific environment on Earth.
C) living organisms and their nonliving environment.
D) the factors that constitute an organism's niche.
answer
A
question
One reason it is important to understand community ecology is
A) to understand the life cycle of fish, such as cichlids.
B) for identification of stomach microbes.
C) to aid in conservation of endangered species.
D) to provide an enriched habitat for humans.
answer
C
question
When a crocodile eats a fish, the interspecific interaction between the two could be
expressed as ________ for the crocodile and ________ for the fish.
A) . . . B) + . . . + C) + . . . D) . . . +
answer
C
question
The feeding relationships among the species of a community is the community's
A) niche.
B) diversity.
C) density.
D) richness.
E) trophic structure.
answer
E
question
If an overlap develops between the ranges of two closely related species, and if the
species occupy the same niche in the zone of overlap, what will probably happen in the
zone of overlap?
A) A new species will arise by hybridization.
B) Both species will coexist, provided the environment in the zone of overlap is
different from that in either individual range.
C) Both species will coexist, provided the environment in the zone of overlap is similar
to that of one of the individual ranges.
D) The species will partition the zone so that half of it is added to the range of each
species and there is no overlap.
E) One species will take over most or all of the zone of overlap.
answer
E
question
According to the competitive exclusion principle, two species cannot continue to occupy
the same
A) environmental habitat.
B) ecological niche.
C) territory.
D) range.
E) biome.
answer
B
question
If an overlap develops between the ranges of two closely related species, and if the
species occupy the same niche in the zone of overlap, what will probably happen in the
zone of overlap?
A) A new species will arise by hybridization.
B) Both species will coexist, provided the environment in the zone of overlap is
different from that in either individual range.
C) Both species will coexist, provided the environment in the zone of overlap is similar
to that of one of the individual ranges.
D) One species will take over most or all of the zone of overlap
answer
D
question
Dinoflagellates are important to coral and coral-dwelling animals because they
A) produce energy that is used by coral animals through photosynthesis.
B) provide shelter for the fast-growing seaweeds associated with coral.
C) produce CO2 and nitrogen for coral.
D) are toxic to species that prey on reef-dwelling fish.
answer
A
question
The differentiation of niches that enables similar species to coexist in a community is
called
A) resource partitioning.
B) the competitive exclusion principle.
C) interspecific competition.
D) niche competition.
E) resource reduction.
answer
A
question
We expect that a keystone species that is a predator will
A) maintain the species diversity in a community.
B) harvest prey species down to extinction.
C) help many of its prey reproduce.
D) be a parasite.
E) More than one of the choices is correct
answer
A
question
Some herbivore-plant interactions evolved through a series of reciprocal evolutionary
adaptations in both species. The process is called
A) herbivory. B) coevolution. C) selection. D) trophism.
answer
B
question
Most plants have a variety of chemicals, spines, and thorns because the plants
A) cannot run away from herbivores.
B) feed on the organisms that try to eat them.
C) are camouflaged into their surroundings.
D) are adapted to attract herbivores.
E) are relying upon Batesian mimicry.
answer
A
question
The relationship between cattle and the birds that eat insects stirred up by grazing cattle
is an example of
A) predation.
B) parasitism.
C) mutualism.
D) commensalism.
E) interspecific competition.
answer
D
question
When a New England farm is abandoned, its formerly plowed fields first become weedy
meadows, then shrubby areas, and finally forest. This sequence of plant communities is
an example of
A) evolution.
B) a phylogenetic trend.
C) a trophic chain.
D) secondary succession.
E) genetic drift.
answer
D
question
During ecological succession, the species composition of a plant community generally
A) changes from a diverse community in which many plants are common to one in
which a few species are numerically dominant.
B) simplifies until most of the plants originally present have disappeared.
C) remains stable as long as major environmental factors (climate, human interference)
remain constant.
D) changes gradually because each species responds differently to the changing
environment.
E) changes until climax forest is established and a single species remains.
answer
D
question
Which one of the following statements is false?
A) Small-scale disturbances rarely have positive effects.
B) Storms, fire, freezing, glacial advance and retreat, and volcanic eruptions are types
of disturbances.
C) Primary succession occurs when a community arises in a virtually lifeless area with
no soil.
D) Secondary succession occurs where a disturbance has destroyed an existing
community but left the soil intact.
E) The transition in species composition in a community is called ecological
succession.
answer
A
question
If left under otherwise natural conditions, which of the following ecosystems would
quickly change into a different type if fire was suppressed?
A) deciduous forest
B) desert
C) tallgrass prairie
D) freshwater marsh
E) None of the choices would change significantly.
answer
C
question
In a hypothetical food chain consisting of grass, grasshoppers, sparrows, and hawks, the
grasshoppers are
A) primary consumers.
B) primary producers.
C) secondary consumers.
D) secondary producers.
E) detritivores.
answer
A
question
A hypothetical community on a barren mid-Atlantic island consists of two fish-eating
seabirds (the booby and the noddy), fungi and microorganisms that live on the birds'
dung, a tick that feeds on these two birds, a cactus, a moth that feeds on cast-off feathers,
a beetle that lives on dung organisms, and spiders that eat the other arthropods. There are
no plants and no lichens. Which of the following choices incorrectly pairs a member of
this assemblage with its position in the trophic structure?
A) spiders, secondary consumer
B) booby and noddy birds, primary consumers
C) fungi, detritivores
D) moths, detritivores
E) the cactus is a producer
answer
B
question
In a food chain consisting of phytoplankton β zooplankton β fish β fishermen, the
fishermen are
A) primary consumers.
B) secondary consumers.
C) tertiary consumers.
D) primary producers.
E) secondary producers.
answer
C
question
The primary decomposers of a community are called
A) primary consumers.
B) detritivores.
C) primary producers.
D) protozoa.
E) herbivores.
answer
B
question
The number of species in a community is called the
A) species diversity. B) species richness.
C) species population. D) species index.
answer
B
question
We expect that a keystone species that is a predator will
A) maintain the species diversity in a community.
B) harvest prey species down to extinction.
C) help many of its prey reproduce.
D) reduce the diversity of the community.
answer
A
question
Non-native species that are introduced in new environments, spread far beyond the
original point of introduction, and cause damage are called
A) destructive species. B) enemy species.
C) invasive species. D) proprietary species.
answer
C
question
The flow of ________ into ecosystems occurs in one direction only, while ________ are
recycled within the ecosystem itself.
A) minerals . . . energy compounds B) genetic information . . . genotypes
C) organic compounds . . . minerals D) energy . . . chemicals
answer
D
question
A hypothetical grassland community has the following five trophic levels: (1) grasses
and other plants; (2) herbivores, such as aphids, rodents, and antelope; (3) carnivores,
such as ladybugs and weasels, that feed mainly on herbivores; (4) carnivores, such as
wolves and hawks, that feed on level (3) carnivores as well as on herbivores; and (5)
detritivores, such as vultures, fungi, and bacteria. If a drought occurred, which of the
consumer levels would most likely be affected first? (Assume that adequate drinking
water remains available.)
A) 2 B) 3 C) 4 D) 5 E) 3 and 4
answer
A
question
A biology teacher takes fish, algae, pond weed, invertebrates, and bottom muck from a
local pond and establishes them in an aquarium. When the system is stable, the teacher
seals it into a large, airtight glass box and leaves the box in a sunny location. After 3
months, the organisms in the aquarium appear alive and healthy. Which of the following
statements about the experiment is false?
A) No energy has entered or left the glass box during the 3 months.
B) Some of the energy in the system has moved from one organism to another during
the 3 months.
C) Some atoms from water molecules have become parts of organic molecules.
D) The air in the glass box contains carbon dioxide.
E) During the 3 months, the biomass of plant life was greater than the biomass of
animal life
answer
B
question
For a given area and time period, the amount of solar energy converted to chemical
energy is called
A) primary succession.
B) secondary succession.
C) primary production.
D) secondary production.
E) primary photosynthesis.
answer
C
question
In a certain ecosystem, field mice are preyed on by snakes and hawks. The entry of wild
dogs into the system adds another predator of the mice. Of the following, the most likely
short-term result of this addition is
A) an increase in snake population.
B) a tendency for hawks to prey on the dogs.
C) a reduction in numbers of mice.
D) migration of the hawks to another ecosystem.
answer
C
question
You want to do all that you can to safeguard the environment by preserving energy. One
simple thing that you can do is to eat a diet consisting only of organisms that are
A) producers. B) primary consumers.
C) secondary consumers. D) a mix of producers and consumers.
answer
A
question
In an average ecosystem, about how much energy is present in the organisms at a given
trophic level compared to the organisms at the next higher trophic level?
A) a tenth as much
B) half as much
C) twice as much
D) ten times as much
E) It is impossible to say without knowing which trophic levels are involved.
answer
D
question
Which of the following substances is not cycled between organic matter and abiotic
reservoirs?
A) water
B) carbon
C) nitrogen
D) phosphorus
E) All of the choices are cycled between biotic and abiotic reservoirs
answer
E
question
Which of the following frequently cycles through the environment, bypassing biotic
components and relying completely on geological processes?
A) carbon
B) nitrogen
C) water
D) nitrogen and carbon
E) carbon and nitrogen
answer
C
question
Given that CO2
is produced by respiration, why does the amount of CO2
in the
atmosphere remain relatively constant? (When answering this question, exclude the
impact of human activities on atmospheric CO2
.)
A) CO2
is converted in photosynthesis to carbohydrates.
B) CO2
is split apart during photosynthesis.
C) CO2
mostly forms carbonate rocks.
D) CO2
is trapped in dead organisms' bodies.
E) CO2
is a buffer.
answer
A
question
Which of the following represents a step in the nitrogen cycle?
A) nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen to nitrates
B) nitrites bind to soil particles
C) nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonium
D) denitrifiers convert ammonium to atmospheric nitrogen
answer
C
question
Which of the following is not true of the nitrogen cycle?
A) It requires different types of bacteria.
B) Nitrogen gas is converted to nitrates in plant leaves.
C) Nitrogen is cycled through living organisms.
D) When plants and animals die, their nitrogen is recycled.
E) Nitrogen is a component of all proteins.
answer
B
question
Denitrifying bacteria convert ________ to ________.
A) ammonium . . . nitrates
B) nitrates . . . nitrogen gas
C) nitrogen gas . . . nitrates
D) nitrogen gas . . . nitrites
answer
B
question
Which one of the following statements about the phosphorus cycle is false?
A) Consumers obtain phosphorus in organic form from plants.
B) Phosphorus has its main abiotic reservoir in water.
C) Plants absorb dissolved phosphorus ions in the soil.
D) Phosphorus that drains from soils into the sea becomes part of new rock and will
not cycle back into living organisms until geologic processes lift the rock up and
expose it to weathering.
E) Phosphates are a major component of sewage.
answer
A
question
Which of the following statements about the phosphorus cycle is true?
A) Phosphorus has its main abiotic reservoir in water.
B) Plants release dissolved phosphorus ions in the soil.
C) Phosphorus that drains from soils into the sea becomes part of new rock and will
cycle back into living organisms.
D) Guano can be used by farmers to add phosphorus to the soil.
answer
B
question
One of the most worrisome results of the large-scale clearing and cultivation of land is
A) erosion and soil degradation.
B) the inability to supply fresh water.
C) the inability fo supply enough food for growing populations.
D) hurricanes.
answer
C
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